Pocketful of Pop

Well, I left my iPad at work today, so you’ll just have to imagine a banner photo of my keys, taken in the darkness of naptime, showing the sad little flashlight bulb dimly fading because it is permanently ‘on’ until its imminent death.

Good hook, eh?

Well, it all started Tuesday evening. I took two Sam’s Choice colas to Beth’s for the New Year’s Eve Party but wound up only drinking one of them. I had set both of them on the porch to cool, and as I left I picked up the second one and put it in my coat pocket. I didn’t think about how it had frozen in the can. (It is cold here, man.)

Fast forward to today, our first day back at school. We were bundling up to go outside, and as I went to get my coat I started our Playground Liturgy: “Repeat after me – Don’t eat the snow.” (“Don’t eat the snow.”) “Don’t throw the snow.” (“Don’t throw the snow.”) At this point I had grabbed my own coat and was swinging it on, and before I could say, “Don’t eat the ice,” I noticed that my coat was really heavy. What was making it so heavy? I put it on, put my hand in my pocket and felt a can of pop….. sitting in a lake of pop. In my pocket. With my glove. And my keys.

The kids looked at me with their expectant faces, knowing that we couldn’t enjoy the wonders of Nature without acknowledging that we would not consume her Icicles or Snowflakes. I told them, “I’m going to need a minute, guys. There’s some pop in my pocket.”